Bearing seal and swing device

ABSTRACT

A bearing seal includes an outer seal easily displaceable in the radial direction, an inner ring as a ring-shaped rigid portion not extendable in the radial direction, an inner seal having a seal lip, and an outer ring arranged on the outer peripheral portion of the outer seal, in which the spring constant of the inner seal is set to be larger than the spring constant of the outer seal. The sealing performance between the inner seal and the pin is ensured by using the ring-shaped rigid portion as a boundary. When the pin is displaced in the radial direction, the ring-shaped rigid portion is integrally displaced with the pin via the inner seal, and the displacement of the ring-shaped rigid portion can be absorbed by the outer seal.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention mainly relates to a bearing seal used in a pinhinge joint for a construction machine such as a hydraulic excavator.

BACKGROUND ART

In a hydraulic excavator as a construction machine, a boom and an arm,as well as an arm and a bucket, are swingably coupled by a pin.

In a coupling section coupled by the pin, namely in a pin hinge joint,lubricant oil such as grease is injected into between the pin and a bossto make the swinging motion smooth, as well to prevent the wear andnoise caused by metal contact.

Further, a bearing seal called radial seal is used to prevent earth andthe like from entering through between the pin and the boss, as well asto prevent the lubricant oil from leaking out from a clearance betweenthe pin and the boss.

An example of such a bearing seal is described in, for example, U.S.Pat. No. 5,380,016.

The bearing seal as described in the document has, as shown in FIG. 43,an outer seal 1 called flex ring, an inner ring 2 called tension ring,and a inner seal 3 called seal ring. The outer seal 1 fits to a boss 4,and the inner seal 3 is attached so as to be brought into contact with apin 5.

In the bearing seal, a fixing ring 6 called mounting is arranged on theouter periphery of the outer seal 1 to make the outer seal 1 easy to befitted to the boss 4.

In the bearing seal as described in the document, when mounting theinner seal 3 to the pin 5, the inner ring 2 is extended in the radialdirection so that the diameter thereof is enlarged, and the inner seal 3is brought into press-contact with the pin 5 by fastening force of theinner ring 2 due to shrinkage. Thus, a large surface pressure (namely,seal surface pressure) of 20 N/cm, for example, in the radial directionis generated in the inner seal 3.

For this reason, a material having high tensile modulus of, for example,300 to 14,000 MPa and high elongation of, for example, 5% or higher isused for the inner ring 2.

Since the seal surface pressure applied to the inner seal 3 is generatedby the fastening force of the inner ring 2, the inner seal 3 is requiredto be provided with two seal lips of a seal lip 3 a and a stabilizer lip3 b to improve the sealing performance.

If the seal lip is formed by one piece only, since the inner ring 2 willnot evenly shrink in width direction (the axial direction of the pin 5),and the fall of the seal lip will occur, so that the seal lip will notbe properly brought into press-contact with the pin 5, thus the sealingperformance will deteriorate. By adding the aforementioned stabilizerlip 3 b, the inner ring 2 can evenly shrink in width direction, and theseal lip can be properly brought into press-contact with the pin 5, thusgood sealing performance in normal time can be obtained.

Since the seal lip 3 has the inner seal 3 a and the stabilizer lip 3 bas described above, when the pin 5 and the boss 4 rotate against eachother, frictional force will be generated in two places, that is, theinner seal 3 a and the stabilizer lip 3 b, so that the frictional forcebecomes great.

The outer seal 1 is made strong to resist the great frictional force. Inother words, if the frictional force becomes great, when the pin 5 andthe boss 4 rotate against each other, a great rotating force acts on theouter seal 1. The outer seal 1 may be damaged if it is weak, therefore,as described above, the outer seal 1 is made strong so as not to bedamaged.

There is a clearance between the boss 4 and the pin 5, and whensubjected to vibration caused by impact, the pin 5 can move in theradial direction by an amount equal to the clearance.

If the inner seal 3 displaces in the radial direction following themovement (displacement) of the pin 5 in the radial direction, then thesealing performance can be maintained. However since the inner seal 3 isbrought into press-contact with the pin 5 by the fastening force of theinner ring 2, and further, since the outer seal 1 is strong anddifficult to be displaced in the radial direction, the inner seal 3 cannot be displaced in the radial direction following the displacement ofthe pin 5 in the radial direction.

Thus, a gap will be generated between the seal lip 3 a of the inner seal3 and the pin 5 due to the displacement of the pin 5 in the radialdirection, so that sealing performance will deteriorate, and earth andsand will enter from the seal section, and the lubricant oil will leakout.

In a construction machine such as a hydraulic excavator, since thevibration caused by impact is great, the pin 5 of the bearing seal ofthe pin hinge joint is repeatedly displaced in the radial direction athigh speed.

When the pin 5 is displaced to one side in the radial direction (forexample, to the upper side in FIG. 43), since the outer seal 1 isdifficult to be displaced, one side of each of the inner seal 3 and theinner ring 2 (for example, the side of the upper half in FIG. 43) in theradial direction will be displaced due to being pressurized by the pin5. On the other hand, since the speed of the displacement of the pin 5is high, and further, since the outer seal 1 is difficult to bedisplaced, the other side of the inner seal 3 and the inner ring 2 (forexample, the side of the lower half in FIG. 43) in the radial directionwill delay in following the displacement of the pin 5, so that the seallip 3 a will fail in keeping press-contact state with the pin 5, and theseal lip 3 a will detach from the pin 5.

Thus, the sealing performance of the bearing seal as described in thedocument is good in normal time, but bad when subjected to vibrationcaused by impact.

In this type of seal having a inner seal, since the grease is difficultto leak out from between the inner seal and the pin when performinggrease up work, the completion of the grease up work can not beconfirmed.

Further, when the sealing performance becomes bad, earth and sand willbecome easy to enter, and the grease will leak out, therefore thedurability of the pin hinge joint will be lowered, and the grease has tobe supplied frequently.

In view of the foregoing, it is an object of the present invention toprovide a bearing seal not only whose sealing performance is good innormal time, but whose sealing performance can be prevented from beingdeteriorated when subjected to vibration caused by impact, and also,whether or not a grease or the like is properly injected can beconfirmed.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

(1) The bearing seal according to claim 1 of the present inventionincludes an outer seal; a ring-shaped rigid portion; and an inner sealmade of elastic material; in which the ring-shaped rigid portion isarranged between the inner seal and the outer seal.

Herein, the ring-shaped rigid portion of this aspect of the presentinvention is not necessary to be an independent member as the innerring, but can be formed including a part of the outer seal and/or theinner seal by increasing the thickness in the radial direction of a partof the member constituting the inner seal and/or the outer seal, or bytransubstantiating a part of the member to increase the hardnessthereof.

According to the aspect of the present the invention, since the innerseal made of elastic material is arranged inside the ring-shaped rigidportion that is not extendable in the radial direction, when the bearingseal is mounted to a shaft, the inner seal is supported by thering-shaped rigid portion, and a seal surface pressure in the axialdirection will be generated.

Accordingly, it is possible to bring the inner seal into properpress-contact with a pin (the shaft), and therefore good sealingperformance in normal time can be maintained Thus, when the bearing sealis mounted to the shaft supported by a bearing, a gap is prevented frombeing generated at a contacting portion of the shaft and the inner seal,therefore earth and the like is prevented from entering, and thelubricant oil such as the grease is prevented from leaking out from thegap.

(2) The bearing seal according to claim 2 of the present inventionincludes an outer seal; a ring-shaped rigid portion; and an inner sealmade of an elastic material; in which the ring-shaped rigid portionabuts on at least one of the inner seal and the outer seal.

According to this aspect of the present invention, the same advantagesas described above can be expected.

(3) The bearing seal according to claim 3 of the present inventionincludes an outer seal; a ring-shaped rigid portion; and an inner sealmade of an elastic material; in which the ring-shaped rigid portion isarranged so that all or a part thereof is embedded into at least any oneof the inner seal and the outer seal.

According to this aspect of the present invention, the same advantagesas described above can be expected.

(4) The bearing seal according to claim 4 of the present invention isthe bearing seal according to any one of claims 1 to 3, in which thering-shaped rigid portion is constituted by increasing a radialthickness of a part of the member of either one of the inner seal andthe outer seal, or by transubstantiating the part of the member toincrease the hardness thereof.

Herein, the ring-shaped rigid portion can be constituted, for example,by increasing the thickness of the contacting portion of the inner sealto the outer seal, or by increasing the hardness of a contacting portionof the inner seal to the outer seal by performing a proper hardeningprocess such as a thermosetting process, or by increasing the thicknessof a contacting portion of the outer seal to the inner seal, or byincreasing the hardness of the contacting portion of the outer seal tothe inner seal by performing a proper hardening process such as athermosetting process.

According to this aspect of the present invention, since the bearingseal is constituted using the material for inner seal and the materialfor outer seal only, the bearing seal can be produced without using thematerial for a separate ring-shaped rigid portion.

(5) The bearing seal according to claim 5 of the present invention isthe bearing seal according to any one of claims 1 to 3, in which thering-shaped rigid portion is formed as a separate member.

Herein, the ring-shaped rigid portion formed as the separate member canbe made from a ring-shaped member made of plastic, carbon, SPC steel(translator's comment: correctly, SPCC steel) or the like.

Further, the ring-shaped rigid portion formed as the separate member canbe arranged inside the contacting portion of the inner seal to the outerseal, or be sandwiched by the contacting portion of the inner seal toouter seal, or be arranged between the contacting portion of the innerseal and the contacting portion of the outer seal, or be arranged so asto straddle the contacting portion of the inner seal and the contactingportion of the outer seal.

According to this aspect of the present invention, by separately formingthe ring-shaped rigid portion, it becomes possible to select thematerial most suitable to the ring-shaped rigid portion corresponding tothe force acting on the bearing, therefore the sealing performance ofthe inner seal can be securely maintained by using a most suitablering-shaped rigid portion.

(6) The bearing seal according to claim 6 of the present invention isthe bearing seal according to any one of claims 1 to 5, in which, when ashaft is radially displaced relative to a bearing, the outer seal ismore deformed than the inner seal.

Herein, the outer seal can be formed by a sheet-like member that islarger than the size of the clearance between the shaft and the bearingand generates sagging when being mounted, or by a bellows-like member oran elastic member which expands and contracts corresponding to thechange of the size of the clearance between the shaft and the bearing.

According to this aspect of the present invention, since the ring-shapedrigid portion does not extend in the radial direction, and since theouter seal is easier to be displaced in the radial direction than theinner seal, when the pin (the shaft) moves in the radial direction by anamount equal to the clearance between the pin and the boss (thebearing), the outer seal can be displaced in the radial directionfollowing the displacement of the pin. Thus, the inner seal becomesdifficult to separate from the pin.

Thus, it is possible to provide a bearing seal not only whose sealingperformance can be kept in good condition in normal time, but whosesealing performance can be prevented from being deteriorated whensubjected to vibration caused by impact.

(7) The bearing seal according to claim 7 of the present invention isthe bearing seal according to claim 6, in which a spring constant of theelastic material of the inner seal is approximately five or more timesas great as a spring constant the outer seal.

According to this aspect of the present invention, since the outer sealis made of the material easily deformable compared to that of the innerseal, and the spring constant of the outer seal is approximately fivetimes as great as that of the inner seal (translator's comment:correctly, the spring constant of the inner seal is approximately fivetimes as great as that of the outer seal), the outer seal can deformcorresponding to the displacement between the bearing and the shaft soas to maintain the sealing performance.

Further, by setting the spring constant of the inner seal toapproximately five times or more as great as that of the outer seal, thedisplacement of the pin can be followed even when the displacement speedof the pin in the radial direction becomes 2 m/s or more.

(8) The bearing seal according to claim 8 of the present invention isthe bearing seal according to any one of claims 1 to 7, in which theouter seal is made of the elastic material.

According to this aspect of the present invention, since the outer sealis made of elastic material, when the bearing and the shaft rotateagainst each other, the outer seal will not be caught in clearancebetween the bearing and the shaft when rotating, therefore the rotationof the bearing can be secured. Further, the outer seal can be made smallcompared to the case where a bellows-like member is used.

(9) The bearing seal according to claim 9 of the present invention isthe bearing seal according to any one of claims 1 to 8, in which thering-shaped rigid portion satisfies an inequality of L′<1.05 L, in whichL is the circumferential length of the rigid portion before beingmounted to the shaft supported by a bearing, and L′ is a circumferentiallength of the rigid portion after being mounted to the shaft.

According to this aspect of the present invention, since the deformationof the ring-shaped rigid portion is restrained to 5% or less, thesealing performance of the inner seal can be securely maintained owingto the ring-shaped rigid portion.

(10) The bearing seal according to claim 10 of the present invention isthe bearing seal according to any one of claims 1 to 9, in which a widthdimension W of a cross section of the ring-shaped rigid portion in adirection perpendicular to a radial direction is larger thanapproximately half of a width dimension h of a cross section of theinner seal in a radial direction.

According to this aspect of the present invention, the displacement ofthe pin can be followed even when the displacement speed of the pin inthe radial direction becomes 2 m/s or more.

(11) The bearing seal according to claim 11 of the present invention isthe bearing seal according to any one of claims 1 to 10, in which theinner seal has a seal lip which, when being mounted to a shaft supportedby a bearing, extends in the direction inclined to an axial direction ofthe shaft to contact an outer circumference of the shaft.

According to this aspect of the present invention, since the seal lip isabutted on the shaft in the direction inclined to the axial direction,when the shaft is displaced relative to the bearing in the radialdirection, the sealing performance can be maintained with proper biasingforce, and also, when the bearing and the shaft rotate against eachother, the sliding performance between the shaft and the bearing issecured, so that the shaft can be smoothly rotated against the bearing.

Further, since the inner seal will be displaced in the radial directiondue to the pressure of the injected grease, the grease can leak out fromthe contacting portion displaced in the radial direction. In otherwords, whether or not the grease is properly injected can be confirmedby checking whether or not the grease leaks out when injecting thegrease.

(12) The bearing seal according to claim 12 of the present invention isthe bearing seal according to any one of claims 1 to 10, in which theinner seal has a seal lip having a chevron shaped cross section, whichbecomes, when being mounted to a shaft supported by a bearing, graduallynarrower toward a distal end side thereof facing an outer circumferenceof the shaft.

According to this aspect of the present invention, since the two seallips structure constituted by a seal lip and a stabilizer lip, such asthe structure a conventional inner seal has, is not necessary, thefrictional force can be reduced when the pin and the boss rotate againsteach other.

(13) The bearing seal according to claim 13 of the present invention isthe bearing seal according to any one of claims 1 to 12, in which thebearing seal further includes an outer ring made of a ring-shaped rigidmaterial, the outer ring surrounding the outer seal.

According to this aspect of the present invention, by providing theouter ring which is made of rigid material so as to surround the outerseal, since the displacement of the outer seal in the axial directioncan be prevented by the outer ring, when the grease or the like is beinginjected into between the pin and the boss, the inner seal will not bedisplaced in the axial direction together with the outer seal by theinjected grease. Thus, the inner seal is prevented from being displacedin the axial direction together with the outer seal, which is displacedin the axial direction by the injected grease.

(14) The swing device according to claim 14 of the present inventionincludes a shaft mounted on a first member, a bearing mounted on asecond member and rotatably supporting the shaft, and a bearing sealarranged outside a bearing surface in an axial direction for sealing aninside including the bearing surface from an outside, the bearing sealbeing the bearing seal according to any one of claims 1 to 13.

According to this aspect of the present invention, as described above,even when the displacement between the shaft and the bearing isgenerated, the sealing performance between the inside and the outsidecan be ensured by the bearing seal, therefore in the swing device, dustand the like can be prevented from entering from between the shaft andthe bearing, and the lubricant oil can be prevented from leaking outthrough the gap. Accordingly, the invention can preferably be applied toa pin hinge joint for connecting a boom and an arm of a constructionmachine and the like, as well as an arm and a bucket of the same.

(15) The swing device according to claim 15 of the present invention isthe swing device according to claim 14, in which the bearing is providedwith, outside the bearing seal, a stopper member for restricting anaxial displacement of the bearing seal.

Herein, a flange member projected from the bearing seal mounting part ofthe bearing toward shaft side, a shim arranged in the clearance betweenthe bearing and the shaft, or the like can be used as a stopper member.

According to the aspect of the present of the invention, by bringing thering-shaped rigid portion into contact with the stopper member such as aflange member or a shim, the displacement of the outer seal and theinner seal in the axial direction can be prevented, and the structure ofthe bearing seal can be simplified.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a cross section showing a swing device in a first embodimentof the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a brief perspective view showing the structure of a bearingseal in the aforesaid embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a cross section showing the mounting state of a bearing sealin the aforesaid embodiment;

FIG. 4 is a cross section for explaining the function of the bearingseal in the aforesaid embodiment;

FIG. 5 is a cross section showing the structure of a bearing seal in asecond embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a cross section showing the structure of a bearing seal in athird embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a cross section showing the structure of a bearing seal in afourth embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a cross section showing the structure of a bearing seal in afifth embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a set of schematic illustrations showing modifications of thebearing seal in the aforesaid embodiment;

FIG. 10 is another set of schematic illustrations showing modificationsof the bearing seal in the aforesaid embodiment;

FIG. 11 is another set of schematic illustrations showing modificationsof the bearing seal in the aforesaid embodiment;

FIG. 12 is another set of schematic illustrations showing modificationsof the bearing seal in the aforesaid embodiment;

FIG. 13 is a cross section showing the structure of a bearing seal in asixth embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 14 is a cross section showing the structure of a bearing seal in aseventh embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 15 is a cross section showing the structure of a bearing seal in aneighth embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 16 is a cross section showing the structure of a bearing seal in aninth embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 17 is a cross section showing the structure of a bearing seal in atenth embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 18 is a cross section showing the structure of a bearing seal in aneleventh embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 19 is a cross section showing the structure of a bearing seal in atwelfth embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 20 is a cross section showing the structure of a bearing seal in athirteenth embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 21 is a cross section showing the structure of a bearing seal in afourteenth embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 22 is a cross section showing the structure of a bearing seal in afifteenth embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 23 is a cross section showing a bearing seal using an inner ring ina sixteenth embodiment of the present invention (Example 1);

FIG. 24 is a cross section showing a modification of the bearing sealusing an inner ring (Example 1);

FIG. 25 is a cross section showing another modification of the bearingseal using an inner ring (Example 1);

FIG. 26 is a cross section showing another modification of the bearingseal using an inner ring (Example 1);

FIG. 27 is a cross section showing an example of forming a ring-shapedrigid portion in an inner seal (Example 2);

FIG. 28 is a cross section showing a modification of forming aring-shaped rigid portion in an inner seal (Example 2);

FIG. 29 is a cross section showing an example of forming a ring-shapedrigid portion in an outer seal (Example 3);

FIG. 30 is a cross section showing a modification of forming aring-shaped rigid portion in an outer seal (Example 3);

FIG. 31 is a cross section showing a modification of a seal lip (Example4);

FIG. 32 is a cross section showing a using state of a bearing seal(Examples);

FIG. 33 is a cross section showing a usage of a metal ring (Example 5);

FIG. 34 is a cross section showing a modification of a usage of a metalring (Example 5);

FIG. 35 is a front elevational view showing another modification of ausage of a metal ring (Example 5);

FIG. 36 is cross section taken along line A-A of FIG. 35 (Example 5);

FIG. 37 is cross section taken along line B-B of FIG. 35 (Example 5);

FIG. 38 is a cross section showing an example of preventing displacementof an outer ring in the axial direction (Example 6);

FIG. 39 is a partly enlarged view of FIG. 38 (Example 6);

FIG. 40 is a chart showing a relation between spring constant ratio andsealing performance (experimental example);

FIG. 41 is a chart showing a relation between the ratio of inner ringwidth to inner seal thickness and sealing performance (experimentalexample);

FIG. 42 is a chart showing a relation between restoring force andbacklash quantity of the outer seal (experimental example); and

FIG. 43 is a cross section showing a bearing seal in a prior art (priorart).

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below withreference to attached drawings.

(1) First Embodiment

(1-1) Entire Configuration of Swing Device 100

FIG. 1 shows a swing device 100 in a first embodiment of the presentinvention. The wing device 100 is used as a pin hinge joint for couplinga boom and an arm of a hydraulic excavator. For example, the arm as onemember is provided with a pin 101 as a shaft, and the boom as the othermember is provided with a boss 102 as a bearing.

The pin 101 is formed by a column-shaped steel material, and the pin 101is fixed to brackets 103 provided at the end of the arm with bolts andnuts.

The boss 102 is formed by a cylindrical steel material with the pin 101being inserted thereinside. The inner diameter of the boss 102 is largerthan the outer diameter of the 101, and therefore a clearance is formedtherebetween. Further, shims 104 as stoppers are provided on the openingportions on ends of the cylindrical boss 102 to cover the clearance.

A bearing portion 105 is provided in the center of the inner peripheralsurface of the boss 102, and the pin 101 is supported by the bearingface of the bearing portion 105. Rotation is made between the boom andthe arm by sliding the outer peripheral surface of the pin 101 againstthe bearing face of the bearing portion 105.

In the swing device 100, bearing seals 110 for sealing the cylindricalinner space of the boss 102 from the outer space are provided on theinner sides of the shims 104 outside the bearing portion 105. The innerspace of the boss 102 sealed by the bearing seal 110 is sealed withlubricant oil such as grease. The lubricating oil sealed in the innerspace of the boss 102 enters the space between the bearing face of thebearing portion 105 and the outer peripheral surface of the pin 101, sothat the sliding performance therebetween can be improved, and the swingdevice 100 can swing smoothly.

(1-2) Structure of Bearing Seal 110

FIG. 2 shows the detailed structure of the bearing seal 110. The bearingseal 110 is formed by a plurality of ring-shaped members which aredifferent in diameter from each other and combined with each otherconcentrically. The bearing seal 110 includes, from the inside towardthe outside, a ring-shaped inner seal 111, an inner ring 112 as aring-shaped rigid portion, a ring-shaped outer seal 113, and an outerring 114. The inner ring 112 is formed between the inner seal 111 andthe outer seal 113.

The inner seal 111, which has a substantially L-shaped cross section,has a seal lip 111A extended in the axial direction of the bearing seal110, and a base 111B that projects from an end of the seal lip 111Atoward outside along the radial direction of the bearing seal 100(translator's comment: correctly, the bearing seal 110). The inner seal111 is made of elastic material of polymer materials such aspolyurethane or the like, polyurethane hardness of which is 95° orhigher.

The seal lip 111A has a substantially truncated cone shape. The base111B side of the seal lip 111A, namely the proximal end side of the seallip 111A, has the largest diameter, and diameter becomes small graduallyfrom the proximal end side toward the distal end side in the axialdirection of the bearing seal 110.

The inner ring 112 as a ring-shaped rigid portion has a substantiallyL-shaped cross section to surround the inner seal 111. One section ofthe L-shaped cross section of the inner ring 112 is embedded into thebase 111B of the inner seal 111. The material for the inner ring 112preferably has high rigidity. For example, SPC steel (translator'scomment: correctly, SPCC steel) can be selected as such material.Incidentally, the material for the inner ring 112 is not limited to SPCsteel (translator's comment: correctly, SPCC steel), but can be plastic,carbon or the like as long as the rigidity thereof satisfies theinequality of L′<1.05 L, in which L is the circumferential length of theinner ring 112 before being mounted to the shaft 101, and L′ is thecircumferential length of the inner ring 112 after being mounted to theshaft 101.

The outer seal 113 is provided so as to surround the inner ring 112. Theouter seal 113, which has a substantially C-shaped cross section,includes an inner ring fixing portion 113A, an extending/contractingportion 113B, and an outer ring fixing portion 113C. The outer seal 113may be made of elastic material easily deformable compared with theinner seal 111, such as NBR with NBR hardness of 30° or higher. Inaddition to NBR, other material such as silicone rubber, fluororubber orthe like may be used to further improve durability. Incidentally, thespring constant of the outer seal 113 is set to approximate five timesas large as that of the inner ring 112 (translator's comment: correctly,the spring constant of the inner seal 111 is set to approximate fivetimes of that of the outer seal 113).

The inner ring fixing portion 113A is fixed to the outer peripheralsurface of the other section of the L-shaped cross section of the innerring 112. The inner ring fixing portion 113A can be fixed to the innerring 112 by welding or by using adhesive. The outer ring fixing portion113C is fixed to the outer ring 114 substantially in the same manner asthe inner ring fixing portion 113A.

The extending/contracting portion 1131B connects the inner ring fixingportion 113A and the outer ring fixing portion 113C. When the relativedisplacement is generated between the shaft 101 and boss 102, theextending/contracting portion 113B extends/contracts to follow thedisplacement. The extending/contracting portion 113B extends in thedirection inclined to fixing faces of the inner ring fixing portion 113Aand the outer ring fixing portion 113C, namely, in the directioninclined to the axial direction of the shaft 101 in the state of beingmounted to the shaft 101. Further, a gap is formed between theextending/contracting portion 1131B and the outer ring fixing portion113C, the gap becoming narrow gradually toward the connecting portion.The gap is the inner portion of the C-shaped cross section.

The outer ring 114 has a substantially L-shaped cross section tosurround the outer seal 113. The material identical to that for innerring 112 can be used for the outer ring 114. Further, the outer sealfixing portion 113C (translator's comment: correctly, the outer ringfixing portion 113C) of the outer seal 113 is fixed to the outer ring114 along the inner surface thereof.

(1-3) Mounting State of Bearing Seal 110

FIG. 3 shows the state where the bearing seal 110 is mounted to theswing device 100.

In the state where the bearing seal 110 is not mounted to the shaft 101,the inner diameter of the seal lip 111A of the inner seal 111 on theproximal end side is larger than the diameter of the shaft 101, whilethe inner diameter of the seal lip 111A on the distal end side issmaller than the diameter of the shaft 101. Incidentally, the outerdiameter of the outer ring 114 is substantially equal to the innerdiameter of the boss 102.

When the shaft 101 is being mounted to the bearing seal 110, the shaft101 is inserted into the bearing seal 110 while expanding the distal endportion of the seal lip 111A until it is moved to a predeterminedposition.

The outer ring 114 is brought into close contact with the innerperipheral surface of the cylinder of the boss 102 so as to secure thesealing performance; while, as to the inner seal 111, since outwarddeformation of the inner seal 111 itself in the radial direction issuppressed by the inner ring 112 on the out side, the distal end portionof the seal lip 111A abuts on an outer peripheral surface of the shaft101 in an biased state, thus the sealing performance between the outerperipheral surface of the shaft 101 and the inner seal 111 is secured.

(1-4) Operation of Bearing Seal 110

As shown in FIG. 4, the bearing seal 110 incorporated in the swingdevice 100 acts on the displacement of the shaft 101 relative to theboss 102 in the radial direction in a manner as described below.

First, when great force is exerted to the arm to which the shaft 101 ismounted, the shaft 101 will be displaced along its radial directionorthogonal to its central axis from the neutral position as indicated bythe two-dot chain line toward the position drawn by a real line.

Since the deformation of the inner seal 111 of the bearing seal 110 inthe radial direction is suppressed by the inner ring 112, the inner seal111 will be displaced together with the shaft 101 in the radialdirection with no change in the abutting state between the seal lip 111Aand the shaft 101 and in the biasing force.

In order to allow the outer seal 113 provided outside the inner ring 112to absorb the displacement of the shaft 101, the extending/contractingportion 113B is displaced to absorb the displacement of the shaft 101.Specifically, in the upper portion of the FIG. 4, theextending/contracting portion 113B is deformed so as to fall toward thehorizontal direction, so that the gap in the inner portion of theC-shaped cross section of the outer seal 113 is collapsed.

On the other hand, in the lower portion of the FIG. 4, theextending/contracting portion 113B is deformed so as to be raised towardthe vertical direction thus the gap in the inner portion of the C-shapedcross section of the outer seal 113 becomes large, so that thedisplacement of the shaft 101 against the boss 102 is absorbed due tothe deformation of the outer seal 113, and the abutting state betweeninner seal 111 and the shaft 101 is maintained by the inner ring 112.

On the other hand, in the case where the boss 102 is sealed withlubricant oil such as grease thereinside, though the bearing seal 110tends to move outward in the axial direction of the shaft 101 due to thepressure of the lubricant oil, the movement is restricted by the outerring 114. Further, such movement of the bearing seal 110 in the samedirection is also restricted by the shim 104 as a stopper member.Incidentally, the outer seal 113 can also be attached to the bossdirectly without employing the outer ring 114.

(1-5) Advantage of First Embodiment

The first embodiment has the following advantages.

(a) Owing to the inner ring 112 as a ring-shaped rigid portion, theinner ring 112 itself can be prevented from being deformed in the radialdirection, and the abutting state can be maintained with no change inbiasing force of the inner seal 111, therefore seal surface pressure canbe generated by only the inner seal 111. Consequently, it is possible tobring the inner seal 111 into proper press-contact with the shaft 101,and therefore good sealing performance in normal condition can bemaintained Incidentally, even when the shaft 101 and the boss 102 rotateagainst each other or slide against each other along the axialdirection, a gap in the abutting portion between the shaft 101 and theinner seal 111 is prevented from being generated, therefore earth andthe like are prevented from entering, the lubricant oil is preventedfrom leaking out through the gap, and the durability of the swing device100 can be substantially improved.

(b) Since the inner seal 111 abuts on the outer peripheral surface ofthe shaft 101 with constant biasing force, in the case where the innerspace of the boss 102, to which the bearing portion 105 is provided, issealed with the grease or the like, the grease will leak out through theabutting portion when internal pressure rises, therefore whether or notthe grease is properly injected can be confirmed by checking theleakage.

(c) Since the inner ring 112 is separately formed from the inner seal111 and the outer seal 113, the optimum material can be selectedcorresponding to the force acting on the swing device 100, thus anoptimum configuration can be implemented for preventing the inner seal111 from being deformed to maintain the abutting state.

(d) Since the outer seal 113 is made of the material easily deformablecompared with the inner seal 111, the sealing performance can bemaintained by allowing the outer seal 113 to deform without inhibitingthe sealing performance of the inner seal 111. Further, even when thedisplacement between the shaft 101 and the boss 102 is an abrupt onecaused by impact vibration, since the outer seal 113 is followed up inquick responsiveness to the displacement, it is possible to provide abearing seal 110 whose sealing performance do not deteriorate due to theimpact.

(e) Since the spring constant of the inner seal 111 in the radialdirection is substantially five times of that of the outer seal 113 inthe same direction, the outer seal 113 is deformed corresponding to thedisplacement between the boss 102 and the shaft 101, therefore thesealing performance of the bearing seal 110 as a whole can bemaintained. Particularly, by setting the spring constant of the innerseal 111 to no less than five times of that of the outer seal 113, evenwhen the displacement speed is 2 m/s or higher, the outer seal 113 isdeformed in quick responsiveness to the displacement of the shaft 101,therefore the sealing performance can be maintained.

(f) Since the outer seal 113 is made of elastic material, when the boss102 and the shaft 101 rotate against each other, the outer seal 113 willnot be caught in gap section, therefore the rotation of the swing device100 can be properly secured.

(g) Since the deformation of the inner ring 112 is controlled to lessthan 5% when the bearing seal 110 is mounted to the shaft 101, even whendisplacement is generated between the shaft 101 and the boss 102, theinner seal 111 can be securely abutted to the shaft 101 with constantbiasing force, thus the sealing performance of the inner seal 111 can besecurely maintained.

(h) Since the seal lip 111A has a truncated cone shaped inner peripheralsurface, when being mounted to the shaft 101, the seal lip 111A isabutted on the outer peripheral surface of the shaft 101 in thedirection inclined to the axial direction, thus, with respect to thedisplacement between the shaft 101 and the boss 102 in the radialdirection, the sealing performance can be maintained with proper biasingforce. Further, since the abutting portion to the shaft 101 is small,the sliding performance of the shaft 101 is secured, so that the shaft101 can be smoothly rotated.

(i) Since the outer ring 114 and the shim 104 are provided, even whenthe inner space of the boss 102 is sealed with lubricant oil, thebearing seal 110 will not move outward in the axial direction of theshaft 101 due to the internal pressure.

(2) Second Embodiment

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be describedbelow. Incidentally, in the description of below, like components aredenoted by like numerals as of those described above and will beexplained in no more details. Further, in each of the cross sections forembodiments below, the right side is the outside of the swing device,and the left side is the inside of the swing device including thebearing portion.

In the aforementioned first embodiment, the outer seal 113 isconstituted in such a manner that the extending/contracting portion 113Bextends in the direction inclined to the inner ring fixing portion 113Aand the outer ring fixing portion 113C, and the extending/contractingportion 113B changes the inclined state thereof to absorb thedisplacement of the shaft 101 relative to the boss 102.

In contrast, as shown in FIG. 5, a bearing seal 120 of the secondembodiment differs from that of the first embodiment in the point thatan outer seal 123 has different arrangement.

That is, though the bearing seal 120 has the inner seal 111, the innerring 112, and the outer ring 114 as in the case of the first embodiment,the bearing seal 120 is different from that of the first embodiment inthe point that the outer seal 123, which connects the inner ring 112 andthe outer ring 114, extends toward the extending direction of theL-shaped cross section of the inner ring 112 and is orthogonallyconnected to the inner surface of the L-sectioned outer ring 114, and inthe state of being mounted to the shaft 101, the extending/contractingportion of the outer seal 123 extends along the axial direction of theshaft 101. Incidentally, the second embodiment is the same as the firstembodiment in the material of the outer seal 123, and the fixing methodof the outer seal 123 to the inner ring 112 and the outer ring 114.

The bearing seal 120 according to the second embodiment has thefollowing advantage in addition to the advantages as described in thefirst embodiment.

Since the extending/contracting portion of the outer seal 123 extendsalong the axial direction of the shaft 101, the extending/contractingportion is advantageous in following the displacement of the bearingseal 120 in axial direction of the shaft 101.

(3) Third Embodiment

In the aforementioned first embodiment, the outer seal 113 of thebearing seal 110 has the inner ring fixing portion 113A, theextending/contracting portion 113B, and the outer seal 113, and thedisplacement of the shaft 101 is absorbed by the extending/contractingportion 113B inclined to the axial direction of the shaft 101.

In contrast, as shown in FIG. 6, a bearing seal 130 of a thirdembodiment differs from that of the first embodiment in the point thatan outer seal 133 extends along the direction perpendicular to the axialdirection of the shaft 101. The outer seal 133 has a pinched crosssectional form where the central part is the narrowed, and the narrowedpart extends/contracts.

Further, in the bearing seal 110 of the aforementioned first embodiment,the outer ring 114 has a substantially L-shaped cross section, while thebearing seal 130 of the third embodiment differs from that of the firstembodiment in the point that an outer ring 134 is formed from acylindrical body extends along the axial direction of the shaft 101 inthe state of being mounted. Incidentally, since the outer ring 134 isformed from a simple cylindrical body, it needs to have large thicknessdimension compared with the outer ring 114 of the bearing seal 114(translator's comment: correctly, the bearing seal 110) of the firstembodiment in order to secure the strength even when the same materialis used.

The bearing seal 130 according to the third embodiment has the followingadvantage in addition to the advantages as described in theaforementioned embodiment.

Since the extending/contracting portion the outer seal 133 extends alongthe radial direction of the shaft 101 and has simple pinched crosssectional with the central part being narrowed, the outer seal 133 canget excellent moldability and improved productivity.

(4) Fourth Embodiment

In the aforementioned first embodiment, the outer seal 113 of thebearing seal 110 has the inner ring fixing portion 113A, theextending/contracting portion 113B, and the outer fixing portion 113C,and the displacement of the shaft 101 is absorbed by theextending/contracting portion 113B inclined to the axial direction ofthe shaft 101.

In contrast, as shown in FIG. 7, a bearing seal 140 of a fourthembodiment differs from that of the first embodiment in the point thatan outer seal 143 is formed to have a simple rectangular cross section,and is adhered to the entire side surface of the L-shaped cross sectionsof the inner ring 112 and of the outer ring 114.

In such a case, it is preferred that the material for the outer seal 143is a rubber having hardness lower than that of the material for theouter seal 113 of the bearing seal 110 of the first embodiment.

The bearing seal 140 according to the fourth embodiment has thefollowing advantage in addition to the advantages as described in theaforementioned embodiment.

Since the outer seal 143 has extremely simple cross section, themoldability of the outer seal 143 can be further improved, and theproductivity can be substantially improved.

(5) Fifth Embodiment

In the bearing seal 110 of the aforementioned first embodiment, theinner ring 112 as a ring-shaped rigid portion is formed between theinner seal 111 and the outer seal 113.

In contrast, as shown in FIG. 8, a bearing seal 150 of a fifthembodiment differs from that of the first embodiment in the point thatan inner ring 152 as a ring-shaped rigid portion is formed in contactwith the inner seal 111 and the outer seal 113.

That is, the inner ring 152 has a rectangular cross section extendingalong the direction perpendicular to the radial direction of the bearingseal 150, and is arranged to straddle the inner side surfaces of theinner seal 111 and the outer seal 113 so as to come into contact withboth. Incidentally, the fifth embodiment is the same as the firstembodiment in the material of the outer seal 113, and the fixing methodof the outer seal 113 to the inner ring 152 and the outer ring 114.

The bearing seal 150 according to the fifth embodiment also has the sameadvantages as described in the aforementioned respective embodiments.

Further, the inner ring of the bearing seal can have various crosssections and can be arranged in various positions as shown in FIG. 9 toFIG. 12. Incidentally, in FIG. 9 to FIG. 12, only the bearing seal andthe inner ring are indicated using numerals. The inner seal, the outerseal and the outer ring are identical to those of the aforementionedfifth embodiment, and therefore indications thereof will be omitted.Incidentally, the fixing method of the inner ring to the outer seal andthe inner seal is identical to that of the first embodiment. Further,the outer seal and the inner seal can also be calked by the inner ring.

As shown in FIG. 9, for example,

(a) In a bearing seal 160, an inner ring 162 is formed to have arectangular cross section, of which a side contacts the outer seal, anda bottom contacts the inner seal.

(b) In a bearing seal 170, an inner ring 172 contacts the outer sealonly. (c) In a bearing seal 180, an inner ring 182 is arranged outsidethe inner seal, and a bottom of the rectangular cross section contactsthe outer seal.

(d) In a bearing seal 190, an inner ring 192 is arranged inside theouter seal and embedded into the outer seal.

(e) In a bearing seal 200, an inner ring 202 is arranged outside theouter seal and embedded into the outer seal.

(f) In a bearing seal 210, an inner ring 212 is arranged inside theouter seal and has a part of the L-shaped cross section thereof embeddedinto the outer seal.

Further, as shown in FIG. 10,

(g) In a bearing seal 220, an inner ring 222 is arranged inside theinner seal and embedded into the inner seal.

(h) In a bearing seal 230, an inner ring 232 is arranged inside theinner seal and embedded into the inner seal but with a side and a bottomthereof exposed to the outside.

(i) In a bearing seal 240, an inner ring 242 is arranged inside theinner seal and has a part of the L-shaped cross section thereof embeddedinto the inner seal.

(j) In a bearing seal 250, an inner ring 252 is arranged inside theinner seal, and has a part of the rectangular cross section thereofembedded into the inner seal and an upper side thereof been brought intocontact with the outer seal.

(k) In a bearing seal 260, an inner ring 262 is arranged outside theinner seal and embedded into the inner seal.

(l) In a bearing seal 270, an inner ring 272 is arranged outside theinner seal and has a part of the rectangular cross section thereofembedded into the inner seal.

Further, as shown in FIG. 11,

(m) In a bearing seal 280, an inner ring 282 is arranged outside theinner seal and has a part of the L-shaped cross section thereof embeddedinto the inner seal.

(n) In a bearing seal 290, an inner ring 292 is arranged so as tostraddle the insides of the inner seal and the outer seal with distalend portions of the C-shaped cross section thereof embedded into theinner seal and the outer seal respectively.

(o) In a bearing seal 300, an inner ring 302 is arranged so as tostraddle the outsides of the inner seal and the outer seal with distalend portions of the C-shaped cross section thereof embedded into theinner seal and the outer seal respectively.

(p) In a bearing seal 310, an inner ring 312 is arranged so as tostraddle the insides of the inner seal and the outer seal with a part ofthe L-shaped cross section thereof embedded into the inner seal.

(q) In a bearing seal 320, an inner ring 322 is arranged so as tostraddle the insides of the inner seal and the outer seal with a part ofthe L-shaped cross section thereof embedded into the outer seal.

(r) In a bearing seal 330, an inner ring 332 is arranged so as tostraddle the outsides of the inner seal and the outer seal with a partof the L-shaped cross section thereof embedded into the inner seal.

Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 12,

(s) In a bearing seal 340, an inner ring 342 has a cross section ofwhich the length is substantially equal to that of the base of the innerseal, and the inner ring 342 is embedded into the inner seal.

(t) In a bearing seal 350, an inner ring 352 has a cross section ofwhich the length is substantially equal to that of the base of the outerseal, and the inner ring 352 is embedded into the outer seal.

(6) Sixth Embodiment

In the bearing seal 110 of the aforementioned first embodiment, theinner ring 112 has an L-shaped cross section, and a part of the L-shapedcross section is embedded into the inner seal 111.

In contrast, in a bearing seal 360 of a sixth embodiment differs fromthat of the first embodiment in the point that, as shown in FIG. 13, aninner ring 362 as a ring-shaped rigid portion is formed from acylindrical body having a rectangular cross section, the cylindricalbody having the entire inner peripheral surface thereof formed as anadhesive face to an inner seal 361 and outer peripheral surface thereofformed as an adhesive face to the outer seal 114 (translator's comment:correctly, the outer seal 113). In other words, the inner ring 362 isheld between the inner seal 361 and the outer seal 113. Incidentally,the inner ring 362 is made of SPC steel (translator's comment:correctly, SPCC steel) or the like as in the case of the firstembodiment.

The bearing seal 360 according to the sixth embodiment has the followingadvantage in addition to the advantages as described in theaforementioned embodiment.

Since the inner ring 362 can be formed from a simple cylindrical member,the manufacturing of the inner ring 362 can be simplified.

Further, since the entire inner and outer peripheral surfaces can beformed as adhesive faces to the inner seal 361 and the outer seal 113respectively; and the mutually integrated structure has improvedstrength.

(7) Seventh Embodiment

In the aforementioned sixth embodiment, the inner ring 362 is arrangedso as to be held between the inner seal 361 and the outer seal 113.

In contrast, as shown in FIG. 14, a bearing seal 370 of a seventhembodiment differs from that of the sixth embodiment in the point thatan inner ring 372 as a ring-shaped rigid portion is embedded into a baseof an inner seal 371 so as to be integrated with the inner seal 371.Also, the base of the inner seal 371 and the base of the outer seal 113are adhered and fixed to each other.

The bearing seal 370 according to the seventh embodiment has thefollowing advantage in addition to the advantages as described in theaforementioned embodiment.

Since the inner ring 372 is embedded into the inner seal 371 so as to beintegrated with the inner seal 371, when the displacement of the shaft101 relative to the boss 102 in the radial direction is generated, theeffect of constraining the displacement of the inner seal 371 in theradial direction is further improved.

(8) Eighth Embodiment

In the aforementioned sixth embodiment, the inner ring 362 is arrangedso as to be held between the inner seal 361 and the outer seal 113 andextends along the respective base.

In contrast, a bearing seal 380 of an eighth arrangement differs fromthat of the sixth embodiment in the point that, as shown in FIG. 15, aninner ring 382 as a ring-shaped rigid portion is embedded into the innerseal 361, and the length of the cross section of the inner ring 382along the axial direction of the shaft 101 is substantially equal to thelength of the bases of the inner seal 361 and the outer seal 113 in thesame direction.

The bearing seal 380 according to the eighth embodiment has the sameadvantages as described in the aforementioned embodiment.

(9) Ninth Embodiment

In the bearing seal 360 of the aforementioned sixth embodiment, thelength of the cross section of the inner ring 362 along the axialdirection of the shaft 101 is substantially equal to the length of thebase of the inner seal 361.

In contrast, as shown in FIG. 16, a bearing seal 390 of a ninthembodiment differs from that of the first embodiment in the point thatan inner ring 392 as a ring-shaped rigid portion is arranged outside ofthe inner seal 361 in the axial direction of the shaft 101 on a boundaryportion of the inner seal 361 and the outer seal 113. Incidentally, thedimension W of the cross section of the inner ring 392 along the axialdirection of the shaft 101 is set to ½ or more of the dimension h of theinner seal 361 in the radial direction.

The bearing seal 390 according to the ninth embodiment has the followingadvantage in addition to the advantages as described in theaforementioned embodiment.

Since the dimension W of the cross section of the inner ring 392 alongthe axial direction of the shaft 101 is set to ½ or more of thedimension h of the inner seal 361 in the radial direction, even when thedisplacement speed of the shaft 101 in the radial direction becomes 2m/s or more, the displacement of the shaft 101 can be well followed.

(10) Tenth Embodiment

In the aforementioned sixth embodiment, the inner ring 362, whichconstitutes the bearing seal 360, is formed separately from the innerseal 361 and the outer seal 113.

In contrast, as shown in FIG. 17, a bearing seal 400 of a tenthembodiment differs from that of the sixth embodiment in the point thatthe radial thickness H1 of a base 401B, which supports the proximal endside of a seal lip 401A of an inner seal 401, is set large enough sothat the base 401B is strengthened therefore enabled to serve as aring-shaped rigid portion.

The bearing seal 400 according to the tenth embodiment has the followingadvantage in addition to the advantages as described in theaforementioned embodiment.

Since a separate inner seal is not necessary to be used, the number ofcomponents for constituting the bearing seal 400 can be reduced,therefore the manufacturing can be facilitated, and the cost can bereduced.

(11) Eleventh Embodiment

In the bearing seal 400 of the aforementioned tenth embodiment, theradial thickness H1 of the base 401B, which constitutes the inner seal401, is ensured so that the base 401B can serve as s a ring-shaped rigidportion.

In contrast, as shown in FIG. 18, a bearing seal 410 of an eleventhembodiment differs from that of the tenth embodiment in the point thatthe outer peripheral portion of a base 411B of an inner seal 411 ishardened so that the base 411B is strengthened and therefore enabled toserve as a ring-shaped rigid portion.

In other words, the inner seal 411 is the same as that of the otherembodiments in the point that it has a seal lip 411A, but different inthe point that the outer peripheral portion of the base 411B is hardenedby heat treatment or the like so that the base 411B obtains highstrength. For this reason, the thickness H2 of the base 411B is smallcompared to that of the tenth embodiment. Incidentally, the thickness H2should be so set that the seal lip 411A will not be hardened whenperforming the hardening treatment, otherwise the sealing performance ofthe inner seal 411 can be reduced.

The bearing seal 410 according to the eleventh embodiment has thefollowing advantage in addition to the advantages as described in theaforementioned embodiment: since the thickness of the inner seal 410(translator's comment: correctly, the inner seal 411) can be reduced,the bearing seal 410 can be prevented from being made large more thannecessary.

(12) Twelfth Embodiment

In the bearing seal 400 of the aforementioned tenth embodiment, thethickness H1 of the base 401B of the inner seal 401 is set large so thatthe base 401B is enabled to serve as a ring-shaped rigid.

In contrast, as shown in FIG. 19, a bearing seal 420 of a twelfthembodiment differs from that of the tenth embodiment in the point thatthe thickness H3 of a base 423B of an outer seal 423, is set large sothat the base 423B is enabled to function as a ring-shaped rigidportion. Incidentally, since the outer seal 423 is made of elasticmaterial having small spring constant compared to that of the inner seal361, the thickness H3 of the base 423B is set large compared to thethickness H1 of the base 401B of the inner seal 401 of the tenthembodiment. Further, other portions such as the adhesive portion 423A tothe outer ring 114, the extending/contracting portion and the like arethe same as those of the other embodiments.

The bearing seal 420 according to the twelfth embodiment has the sameadvantages as described in the aforementioned embodiment.

(13) Thirteenth Embodiment

In the bearing seal 420 of the aforementioned twelfth embodiment, thethickness H3 of the base 423B of the outer seal 423 is set large so thatthe base 423B is enabled to serve as a ring-shaped rigid.

In contrast, as shown in FIG. 20, a bearing seal 430 of a thirteenthembodiment differs from that of the twelfth embodiment in the point thatthe inner peripheral portion of a base 433B of an outer seal 433 ishardened so that the base 433B is strengthened and therefore enabled toserve as s a ring-shaped rigid portion. Incidentally, the method ofhardening the inner peripheral portion of the outer seal 433 is the sameas in the eleventh embodiment, and by performing such a hardeningtreatment, the thickness H4 of the base 433B of the outer seal 433 isset small compared to that in the twelfth embodiment. Further, theadhesive portion 433A and the extending/contracting portion are the sameas those of the twelfth embodiment.

The bearing seal 430 according to the thirteenth embodiment has the sameadvantages as described in the aforementioned embodiment.

(14) Fourteenth Embodiment

In the bearing seal 360 of the aforementioned sixth embodiment, the seallip 361A of the inner seal 361 has a rectangular cross section andextends in the direction inclined to the axial direction of the shaft101 to contact the outer peripheral surface of the shaft 101.

In contrast, as shown in FIG. 21, a bearing seal 440 of a fourteenthembodiment differs from that of the sixth embodiment in the point thatan inner seal 441 has a seal lip 441A with a chevron shaped crosssection, the width of which becomes gradually small toward the distalend side thereof facing the outer peripheral surface of the shaft 101.

In other words, the inner seal 441 has the seal lip 441A with asubstantially triangular cross section, the width of which becomesgradually small from the proximal end portion on the side of the innerring 362 toward the outer peripheral surface of the shaft 101, and thedistal end portion contacts the outer peripheral surface of the shaft101. Incidentally, the length of the proximal end portion of the innerseal 441 in the axial direction of the shaft 101 is substantially equalto the length of the inner ring 362 along the same direction.

The bearing seal 440 according to the fourteenth embodiment has the sameadvantages as described in the aforementioned embodiment.

(15) Fifteenth Embodiment

In the bearing seal 440 of the aforementioned fourteenth embodiment,only one outer ring 114 is provided outside the outer seal 113.

In contrast, as shown in FIG. 22, a bearing seal 450 of a fifteenthembodiment differs from that of the fourteenth embodiment in the pointthat a metal ring 455 is further provided outside the outer ring 114.

The metal ring 455 has a L-shaped cross section, on which and is aplurality of cutout grooves 456, each extending along the axialdirection of the shaft 101, are formed in the circumferential direction.The cutout groove 456 is the portion for, when being mounted to theshaft 101, allowing the injected lubricant oil such as grease to leakout so that the bearing seal 450 will not move outward in the axialdirection of the shaft 101 due to the injection of the lubricant oil.

Further, on the outside the metal ring 455 in the axial direction of theshaft 101, a lip seal 457 made of synthetic resin is provided forcovering the cutout grooves 456 so that the cutout grooves 456 areprevented from being exposed to the outside.

The bearing seal 450 according to the fifteenth embodiment has the sameadvantages as described in the aforementioned embodiment.

(16) Sixteenth Embodiment

A sixteenth embodiment of the present invention will be described belowreferring to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 23 to FIG. 26 are examplesof the present invention, each being a partial cross section showing abearing seal using an inner ring as a ring-shaped rigid portion. FIG. 27and FIG. 28 are partial cross sections showing examples of forming aring-shaped rigid portion in the abutting portion of the inner seal tothe outer seal. FIG. 29 and FIG. 30 are partial cross sections showingexamples of forming a ring-shaped rigid portion in abutting portion ofthe outer seal to the inner seal.

EXAMPLE 1

FIG. 23 shows an example in which an inner ring 20 as a ring-shapedrigid portion 18 is used; a bearing seal 60 is constituted by, from theoutside toward the inside, an outer seal 10, the inner ring 20, an innerseal 30, and a metal ring 40; and the metal ring 40 is engaged with aboss 51. As shown in FIG. 32, the bearing seal 60 is circularly-arrangedbetween a pin 50 and the boss 51. In order to explain the structure ofthe bearing seal 60, the partial cross section of the bearing seal 60 isindicated in the drawings including the bearing seal 60.

The outer seal 10 is easily deformable in the radial direction. Theouter seal 10 may be made of soft material such as, for example, NBRwith NBR hardness of 30°, and may preferably be provided with aclearance 11 substantially C-shaped in cross section.

Specifically, the structure includes an outer cylinder 12, an innercylinder 13, and a connection piece 14 which connects the one endportion of the outer cylinder 12 in the width direction and one endportion of the inner cylinder 13 in the width direction; the innersurface 12 a of the outer cylinder 12 and the outer surface 13 a of theinner cylinder 13 are separated from each other; and the ring-shapedclearance 11 opens to the other end portion in the width direction.

The inner ring 20 used as the ring-shaped rigid portion 18 is requirednot to extend in the radial direction. The inner ring 20 may be made ofmaterial having small elongation, preferably made of material havingelongation of 5% or less such as SPC steel (translator's comment:correctly, SPCC steel), and may be annularly formed

The inner seal 30 only includes a seal lip 31 having a crest whichextends in the direction inclined to the outer peripheral surface of thepin 50 so that the distal end thereof contacts the outer peripheralsurface of the pin 50. The inner seal 30 may be made of polymericelastomer such as polyurethane with hardness of 95°.

The outer peripheral surface of the inner seal 30 is retained by theinner ring 20 as the ring-shaped rigid portion 18, and the pressurecontact force of inner seal 30 to the pin 50 is constantly maintained bythe ring-shaped rigid portion 18. In other words, the pressure contactforce of the seal lip 31 of the inner seal 30 to the pin 50, namely theseal surface pressure, is generated by the inner seal 30 only, thereforegood sealing performance in normal condition can be maintained.

Further, the restoring force of the outer seal 10 and the inner seal 30corresponding to the constant displacement in the radial direction,namely the spring constant of the outer seal 10 and the inner seal 30,is so set that the spring constant of the inner seal 30 is larger thanthat of the outer seal 10.

Thus, the outer seal 10 can follow the displacement of the pin 50 in theradial direction and support the ring-shaped rigid portion 18 which isdisplaced together with the pin 50, and the displacement of thering-shaped rigid portion 18 can be absorbed by the displacement of theouter seal 10 in the radial direction.

Thus, when the pin 50 is displaced relative to the boss 51 in the radialdirection of the pin 50, the inner seal 30 and the inner ring 20 as thering-shaped rigid portion 18 can be integrated with each other to bedisplaced following the displacement of the pin 50 in the radialdirection; while when the pin 50 returns to the original position, theinner seal 30 and the inner ring 20 as the ring-shaped rigid portion 18can be integrated with each other to return to the original positionfollowing the pin 50.

In other words, the good sealing performance can be maintained even inthe moment when the pin 50 is being displaced in the radial direction Itshould be noted that the material and the shape of the outer seal 10,the inner ring 20 and the inner seal 30 are not limited to those asdescribed above but can be varied as long as the objects of the presentinvention can be achieved.

FIG. 23 shows an example in which the inner ring 20 as the ring-shapedrigid portion 18 is arranged between the outer surface 33 a of an outercylinder 33 of the inner seal 20 (translator's comment: correctly, theinner seal 30) and the inner surface 13 b of the inner cylinder 13 ofthe outer seal 10. However, the inner ring 20 also can be arrangedinside the outer cylinder 33 of the inner seal 20 (translator's comment:correctly, the inner seal 30) as shown in FIG. 24, or be sandwiched bythe outer cylinder 33 of the inner seal 20 (translator's comment:correctly, the inner seal 30) as shown in FIG. 25.

Further, the inner ring 20 also can be arranged only in the vicinity ofthe end of the outer cylinder 33 of the inner seal 30. FIG. 41 shows, inthis case, the relation between the ratio of the width W of the innerring 20 along the axial direction of the pin 50 to the thickness h ofthe inner seal 30 and the generation speed of leakage (m/s), namely thedisplacement speed (m/s) of the pin 50 in the radial direction.

The relation as shown in FIG. 41 is the experimental result on a pinjoint section of a construction machine in which the elastic materialhaving a rubber hardness of 70° is used for the inner seal 30, and theelastic material having a rubber hardness of 30° is used for the outerseal 10.

The relation is indicated assuming a horizontal axis to be the value of(the width W of the inner ring 20/the thickness h of the inner seal 30)and a vertical axis to be the generation speed of leakage (m/s), namelythe displacement speed (m/s) of the pin 50 in the radial direction.

As shown in FIG. 41, when the value of the horizontal axis is 0.5, theleakage from the bearing seal 60 occurs in the case where thedisplacement speed of the pin 50 in the radial direction reaches to 2m/s, and the leakage does not occur in the case where the displacementspeed is below 2 m/s. When the value of the horizontal axis is 0.8, theleakage from the bearing seal 60 does not occur until the displacementspeed reaches to 5 m/s. When the value of the horizontal axis is 1.0 or1.4 for example, the leakage from the bearing seal 60 does not occureven if the displacement speed reaches to 5 m/s.

In normal use of a construction machine, the displacement speed of thepin 50 of the pin joint section is usually no more than 2 m/s, and willnot be larger than 5 m/s even in the case where the bucket of ahydraulic excavator, for example, is used to collide with the rock,concrete lump or the like to crush them. Thus, it will be sufficientlyenduring for practical uses if the bearing seal can cope with thedisplacement of the pin 50, namely the generation speed of leakage, of 2m/s.

In other words, the bearing seal can cope with the displacement of thepin 50, namely the generation speed of leakage, sufficiently if thevalue of (the width W of the inner ring 20/the thickness h of the innerseal 30) is set larger than 0.5.

EXAMPLE 2

FIG. 27 and FIG. 28 are partial cross sections showing examples offorming a ring-shaped rigid portion in the abutting portion of the innerseal to the outer seal. FIG. 27 shows an example in which thering-shaped rigid portion 18 is formed by setting the thickness of theouter cylinder 33 of the inner seal 30 large. Further, FIG. 28 shows anexample in which a heat hardening processing is applied to the outersurface 33 a of the outer cylinder 33 of the inner seal 30 so that thering-shaped rigid portion 18 is formed by the outer surface 33 a. Asshown in FIG. 28, by applying the hardening treatment to the outersurface 33 a of the outer cylinder 33, the thickness of the inner seal30 can be set small.

Also, instead of applying the hardening treatment to the outer surface33 a of the outer cylinder 33, a hard material can be fixed to the outercylinder 33 of the inner seal by suitable fixing means such as adhering,welding or bonding. In such a case, it is preferred that the materialhaving small elastic elongation is used as the hard material.

EXAMPLE 3

FIG. 29 and FIG. 30 are partial cross sections showing examples offorming a ring-shaped rigid portion in abutting portion of the outerseal to the inner seal. FIG. 29 shows an example in which thering-shaped rigid portion 18 is formed by setting the thickness of theinner cylinder 13 of the outer seal 10 large. Further, FIG. 30 shows anexample in which a heat hardening processing is applied to the innersurface 13 b of the inner cylinder 13 of the outer seal 10 so that thering-shaped rigid portion 18 is formed by the inner surface 13 b. Asshown in FIG. 30, by applying the hardening treatment to the innersurface 13 b of the inner cylinder 13, the bearing seal 60 can be madesmall.

Also, instead of applying the hardening treatment to the inner surface13 b of the inner cylinder 13, a hard material can be fixed to the innercylinder 13 by suitable fixing means such as adhering, welding orbonding. In such a case, it is preferred that the material having smallelastic elongation is used as the hard material.

EXAMPLE 4

FIG. 31 shows an example in which the seal lip 31 has a substantiallytriangular cross section, in which the two end surfaces 30 a of theinner seal 30 near the outer periphery are parallel to each other, andthe two end surfaces 30 b near the inner periphery intersect with eachother to form a substantially V-shape, thereby forming the seal lip 31.

Though FIG. 31 shows an example in which the inner ring 20 as thering-shaped rigid portion 18 is the same as used in the Example 1, theinner ring 20 as the ring-shaped rigid portion 18 is not limed theretobut can be the ring-shaped rigid portion 18 similar to that as used inthe Example 2 or Example 3.

It should be noted that the configurations of the present invention arenot limited to the aforementioned Examples 1 to 4 but can be varied aslong as the objects of the present invention can be achieved. Forexample, the material and structure of the outer seal 10, thering-shaped rigid portion 18 and the inner seal 30 can be changed. Insuch a case, the restoring force of the outer seal 10 and the inner seal30 corresponding to the constant displacement in the radial direction,namely the spring constant of the outer seal 10 and the inner seal 30,is required to be so set that the spring constant of the inner seal 30is larger than that of the outer seal 10.

Particularly, as shown in FIG. 40, it is preferred that the value of(the spring constant of the inner seal/the spring constant of the outerseal) is set to approximate 5 or more. The relation as shown in FIG. 40is the experimental result on a pin joint section of a constructionmachine in which the elastic material having a rubber hardness of 70° isused for the inner seal 30, and the elastic material having a rubberhardness of 30° is used for the outer seal 10. The relation is indicatedassuming the horizontal axis to be the value of (spring constant ofinner seal/spring constant of outer seal) and the vertical axis to bethe generation speed of leakage (m/s), namely the displacement speed(m/s) of the pin 50 in the radial direction.

As shown in FIG. 40, when the value of (the spring constant of the innerseal /the spring constant of the outer seal) is 5, the leakage from thebearing seal 60 can be prevented until the displacement speed of the pin50 in the radial direction reaches to 2 m/s. When the value of thehorizontal axis is 3 (translator's comment: correctly, when the value ofthe horizontal axis is 10), the leakage from the bearing seal 60 doesnot occur until the displacement speed reaches to 3 m/s. When the valueof the horizontal axis is 20, the leakage from the bearing seal 60 doesnot occur until the displacement speed reaches to 4 m/s, and when thevalue of the horizontal axis is 30, the leakage from the bearing seal 60does not occur until the displacement speed reaches to 5 m/s.

In normal use of a construction machine, the displacement speed of thepin 50 of the pin joint section is usually no more than 2 m/s, and willnot be larger than 5 m/s even in the case where the bucket of ahydraulic excavator, for example, is used to collide with the rock,concrete lump or the like to crush them. Thus, it will be sufficientlyenduring for practical uses if the bearing seal can cope with thedisplacement of the pin 50, namely the generation speed of leakage, of 2m/s.

Thus, the bearing seal can cope with the displacement of the pin 50 ofthe pin joint section of a construction machine sufficiently if thevalue of (the spring constant of the inner seal /the spring constant ofthe outer seal) is set larger than approximate 5.

EXAMPLE 5

FIG. 33 to FIG. 37 show examples in which a metal ring 40 for preventingthe displacement of the outer seal 10 in the axial direction isconstituted by a first metal ring 41 and a second metal ring 42, themetal ring 40 being fixed to the boss 51. Since the outer seal 10 iseasier to be deformed than the inner seal 30, when the grease or thelike is being injected into between the pin 50 and the boss 51 from theleft in the FIG. 33, there is possibility that the inner seal 30 isdisplaced together with the outer seal 10 in the axial direction of thepin 50 before the seal lip 31 of the inner seal 30 is displaced in thedirection indicated by the arrow “a” in the figure due to the injectionpressure of the grease.

In such a case, since the grease will not leak out from between the seallip 31 of the inner seal 30 and the pin 50, whether or not the grease isproperly injected can not be confirmed through checking the leakage ofthe grease from between the seal lip 31 and the pin 50. Further, if theinner seal 30 is displaced in the axial direction, the contact angle ofthe seal lip 31 with the pin 50 will change, therefore sealingperformance may be decreased, and the seal lip 31 may be damaged due tocontacting with other portion.

Thus, the first metal ring 41 and the second metal ring 43 (translator'scomment: correctly, the second metal ring 42) are used to prevent theouter seal 10 from being displaced in the axial direction, and therebythe inner seal 30 is prevented from being displaced together with theouter seal 10 in the axial direction. Thus, since the grease can leakout from between the seal lip 31 and the pin 50 due to the displacementof the seal lip 31 in the direction indicated by the arrow “a” wheninjecting the grease, whether or not the grease is properly injected canbe confirmed.

For example, FIG. 32 shows a configuration in which the pin 50 issupported by the bracket 52, the bearing seal 60 is arranged between thepin 50 and the boss 51, and the grease is injected into between the boss51 and the pin 50 from a nipple 54.

In the above, whether or not the grease is properly injected can not beconfirmed through checking the leakage of the injected grease frombetween the boss 51 and the bracket 52.

Thus, as explained above, if the outer seal 10 is displaced in the axialdirection and the inner seal 30 is also displaced in the axial directiontogether with the outer seal 10, the seal lip 31 will be displaced inthe direction indicated by the arrow “a”, therefore the grease will notleak out, and whether or not the grease is properly injected can not beconfirmed.

In this example, the metal ring 40 has a first metal ring 41 and asecond metal ring 42, a cylinder 41 a of the first metal ring 41 beingengaged with a cylinder 42 a of the second metal ring 42, and thecylinder 42 a of the second metal ring 42 being engaged with the boss51.

An inward flange 41 b of the first metal ring 41 abuts on the connectionpiece 14 of the outer seal 10, an inward flange 42 b of the second metalring 42 either respectively abuts on the cylinder 41 a of the firstmetal ring 41, the outer cylinder 12, the inner cylinder 13, and theinner ring 20, or respectively faces the same via clearance.

In this example, the inner cylinder 13 of the outer seal 10 has itsportion near the other end in the width direction arranged parallel tothe pin 50, while the portion near the other end in the width directionbeing diametrically expanded toward the outside in a taper shape.

Further, the inner ring 20 is fixed to the parallel portion near theother end in the width direction.

The inner ring 20 has a cylinder 21 and an inward flange 22, and anaxial one end portion 32 of the inner seal 30 is fixed to the inwardflange 22.

The inner seal 30 is parallel to the pin 50, and is formed in a funnelshape so that the seal lip 31 (an axial other end portion) is locatedinside the axial one end portion 32. The seal lip 31 is formed so as tobe easily displaced in the direction indicated by the arrow “a” by theinjected grease or the like as described above.

It should be noted that the inner ring 20 as the ring-shaped rigidportion 18 is not limited to as shown in the drawings but can take anyof the configurations of the ring-shaped rigid portion 18 as describedin aforementioned Examples 1 to 4.

FIG. 34 shows an example in which the seal lip 31 of the inner seal 30has a substantially triangular cross section.

The two end surfaces 30 a of the inner seal 30 near the outer peripheryare parallel to each other, and the two end surfaces 30 b near the innerperiphery intersect with each other to form a V-shape, thereby formingthe seal lip 31.

Since the seal lip 31 of the inner seal 30 is difficult to be deformedby the injected grease or the like as described above, breather grooves43 are formed in the cylinder 42 a of the second metal ring 42 so thatthe grease can leak out from the breather grooves 43.

The breather grooves 43 with narrow width are formed in thecircumferential direction at an interval, each extending contiguously inthe axial direction and opening to the outer peripheral surface of thecylinder 42 a.

In such a case, since earth and sand might enter into between the pin 50and the boss 51 from the breather grooves 43, a breather groove lip seal44 is provided so that earth and the like is prevented from enteringthrough the breather grooves 43, while the grease can leak out from thebreather grooves 43.

For example, it is possible to create a configuration in which thebreather groove lip seal 44 is fixed to the second metal ring 42, and ataper-shaped outer peripheral edge part 44 a of the breather groove lipseal 44 is abutted to the boss 51, so that the outer peripheral edgepart 44 a will be displaced away from the boss 51 by the grease leakedout from the breather grooves 43, while earth and the like will notenter the breather grooves 43 because the outer peripheral edge part 44a is brought into press-contact with the boss 51 by the acting force ofthe dust.

It is preferred that the breather groove lip seal 44 is made of, forexample, NBR with NBR hardness 30°, and the spring constant of the innerseal 30 is set to approximate five times as great as that of the outerseal 10.

FIG. 35 to FIG. 37 show another modification of the inner seal 30 inwhich the seal lip 31 of the inner seal 30 has a plurality oftongue-shaped cross-sectioned portions 31 a and triangularcross-sectioned portions 31 b alternately arranged in thecircumferential direction.

For example, the configuration can be such that the two end surfaces 30a of the inner seal 30 near the outer periphery are parallel to eachother, the two end surfaces 30 b near the inner periphery intersect witheach other to form a V-shape, and a plurality of V-shaped concaveportions 30 c are formed in the circumferential direction of one of theend surfaces 30 b near the inner periphery at an interval, the partforming the concave portions 30 c being the end surfaces 30 a, and therest being the triangle sectioned portion.

With this configuration, the tongue-shaped cross-sectioned portions 31 aof the seal lip 31 can be deformed when injecting the grease so that theinjected grease can leak out, and the sealing performance can beimproved owing to the triangular cross-sectioned portions 31 b of theseal lip 31.

EXAMPLE 6

FIG. 38 and FIG. 39 show an example in which the displacement of theouter seal 10 in the axial direction is prevented by bringing thering-shaped rigid portion 18 into contact with the shim 55 arrangedinside the bracket 52, instead of by providing the second metal ring 42as described in Example 5. In other words, since the outer seal 10 iseasier to be deformed than the inner seal 30, when the grease or thelike is being injected into between the pin 50 and the boss 51 from theleft in the FIG. 38, the displacement of the inner seal 30 together withthe outer seal 10 in the axial direction of the pin 50 is prevented by,as shown in FIG. 39, bringing the inner ring 20 as the ring-shaped rigidportion 18 into contact with the shim 55.

As shown in FIG. 38, it is possible to create a configuration in whichthe inner ring 20 and the shim 55 are in the state of non-contact witheach other in normal time, but the inner ring 20 and the shim 55 arebrought into contact with each other if the outer seal 1 (translator'scomment: correctly, the outer seal 10) is somewhat displaced in theaxial direction when performing grease up work, for example. It ispreferred that the inner ring 20 and the shim 55 are separated from eachother even when the inner ring 20 and the shim 55 are brought intocontact with each other.

With this configuration, when performing grease up work, for example,the damage of the seal lip 31 caused by contact of the distal endthereof with the shim 55 due to the internal pressure of the injectedgrease can be prevented. In order to bring the inner ring 20 intocontact with the shim 55 before the distal end of the seal lip 31contacts the shim 55, it is preferred that the inner ring 20 is arrangedbetween the outer seal 10 and the inner seal 30.

The end surface of the ring-shaped rigid portion 18, which contacts withthe shim 55, is preferably made of the material as is used for the innerring 20, which has high strength against abrasion and low frictionalcoefficient, such as SPCC steel for example. However, the end surface ofthe ring-shaped rigid portion 18 also can be made of the materialidentical to that of the inner seal 30 or the outer seal 10, or be madeof hardening treated material of the inner seal 30 or the outer seal 10.Also, it should be noted that the member with which the ring-shapedrigid portion 18 or the outer seal 10 contact is not limited to the shim55 but can be other member as long as the displacement of thering-shaped rigid portion 18 or the outer seal 10 in the axial directionof the pin 5 can be prevented.

With this configuration, when performing grease up work for example, theleakage of the grease from between the seal lip 31 of the inner seal 30and the pin 50 can be checked. Accordingly, the leakage of the greasefrom between the seal lip 31 and the pin 50 can be checked, andtherefore whether or not the grease is properly injected can beconfirmed. Further, the decreasing of the sealing performance and damageof the seal lip 31 due to contacting with other portion caused by thedisplacement of the inner seal 30 in the axial direction can beprevented.

In the aforementioned embodiments, though the grease is injected intobetween the pin 50 and the boss 51, the lubricant oil can be injectedinto between the pin 50 and the boss 51 instead of the grease. In such acase, the breather groove 43 and the breather groove lip seal 44 asshown in FIG. 25 are not necessary to be provided.

EXPERIMENTAL EXAMPLE

Next, the restoring force of the outer seal 10 after being elasticallycompressed due to the displacement of the pin 50 in the radial directionwill be described.

The restoring forces (kgf) corresponding to different displacements ofthe pin 40 (translator's comment: correctly, the pin 50) were measuredusing bearing seals 60 with the inner ring 20 and the inner seal 30having cross section as shown in FIG. 33, and with the outer seals 10respectively having the cross section as shown in FIG. 33, a U-shapedcross section opened to one side, a solid cross section, and a pipe-likecross section.

The results were as shown in FIG. 42.

In FIG. 42, A is an outer seal having a pipe-like cross section, B is anouter seal having a solid cross section, C is an outer seal having across section as shown in FIG. 1 (translator's comment: correctly, FIG.33), D is an outer seal having a U-shaped cross section opened to oneside, and E is an outer seal having an axially long cross section asshown in FIG. 23. Also, the backlash quantity (eccentric quantity) isthe size of the clearances between the pin 50 and the boss 51, andindicates the displacement of the pin.

From the above, it is proved that the outer seal 10 having a clearance11 has small restoring force and good follow-up to the displacement ofthe pin, compared to the outer seal 10 having, for example, a pipe-likecross section, a solid cross section, or the like.

It is known that the backlash quantity of a pin hinge joint for aconstruction machine is approximately 0.3 mm. It is also known that whenthe backlash quantity is 0.3 mm, the restoring force of an outer sealhaving a solid cross section is 1.7 kgf, and the restoring force of theouter seal having the cross section as shown in FIG. 33 is 0.8 kgf.

Accordingly, in a bearing seal for a pin hinge joint for a constructionmachine, the restoring force should be no more than 1.7 kgf for theouter seal having a solid cross section, and no more than 0.8 kgf forthe outer seal having the clearance as shown in FIG. 33, when thebacklash quantity is 0.3 mm.

Further, in the bearing seal for a construction machine, it is preferredthat the material for inner seal 30 satisfies the following requirement.

(1) Tension loss due to the settling is 30% or less after the elapse of10,000 hours.

(2) Elastic deformation rate, as temperature characteristics, is 5% orhigher in temperature range of −30° C. to 120° C.Elastic deformation rate=elastic deformation of rubber/total deformationof rubber×100%

In other words, the total deformation of rubber is the sum of theelastic deformation (the deformation which conforms to Hooke's law) andthe elastic after effect deformation (the deformation which is inferiorin responsiveness).

Further, it is preferred that the value of (the spring constant of theelastic material for the inner seal 30/the spring constant of theelastic material for the outer seal 10) is approximate 5.

In the case where the inner ring 20 is used as the ring-shaped rigidportion 18, it is preferred that the value of (the width of the innerring 20/half of the thickness of the inner seal 30) is larger than 0.5(translator's comment: correctly, the value of (the width of the innerring 20/the thickness of the inner seal 30) is larger than 0.5).

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

The bearing seal of the present invention can be applied to a bearingseal used for a member which is displaced in the radial direction.

1-15. (canceled)
 16. A bearing seal comprising: an outer seal; aring-shaped rigid portion; and an inner seal made of elastic material;wherein the ring-shaped rigid portion is arranged between the inner sealand the outer seal.
 17. A bearing seal comprising: an outer seal; aring-shaped rigid portion; and an inner seal made of elastic material;wherein the ring-shaped rigid portion abuts at least any one of theinner seal and the outer seal.
 18. A bearing seal comprising: an outerseal; a ring-shaped rigid portion; and an inner seal made of elasticmaterial; wherein the ring-shaped rigid portion is arranged so that allor a part thereof is embedded into at least any one of the inner sealand the outer seal.
 19. The bearing seal according to claim 16, whereinthe ring-shaped rigid portion is formed as a member separate from themembers constituting the inner seal and the outer seal.
 20. The bearingseal according to claim 16, wherein, when a shaft is radially displacedrelative to a bearing, the outer seal is more deformed than the innerseal.
 21. The bearing seal according to claim 16, wherein the outer sealis made of elastic material.
 22. The bearing seal according to claim 16,wherein the inner seal has a seal lip which, when being mounted to ashaft supported by a bearing, extends in a direction inclined to anaxial direction of the shaft to contact an outer circumference of theshaft.
 23. The bearing seal according to claim 16, further comprising:an outer ring made of a ring-shaped rigid material, the outer ringsurrounding the outer seal.
 24. The bearing seal according to claim 17,wherein the ring-shaped rigid portion is formed as a member separatefrom the members constituting the inner seal and the outer seal.
 25. Thebearing seal according to claim 17, wherein, when a shaft is radiallydisplaced relative to a bearing, the outer seal is more deformed thanthe inner seal.
 26. The bearing seal according to claim 17, wherein theouter seal is made of elastic material.
 27. The bearing seal accordingto claim 17, wherein the inner seal has a seal lip which, when beingmounted to a shaft supported by a bearing, extends in a directioninclined to an axial direction of the shaft to contact an outercircumference of the shaft.
 28. The bearing seal according to claim 17,further comprising: an outer ring made of a ring-shaped rigid material,the outer ring surrounding the outer seal.
 29. The bearing sealaccording to claim 18, wherein the ring-shaped rigid portion is formedas a member separate from the members constituting the inner seal andthe outer seal.
 30. The bearing seal according to claim 18, wherein,when a shaft is radially displaced relative to a bearing, the outer sealis more deformed than the inner seal.
 31. The bearing seal according toclaim 18, wherein the outer seal is made of elastic material.
 32. Thebearing seal according to claim 18, wherein the inner seal has a seallip which, when being mounted to a shaft supported by a bearing, extendsin a direction inclined to an axial direction of the shaft to contact anouter circumference of the shaft.
 33. The bearing seal according toclaim 18, further comprising: an outer ring made of a ring-shaped rigidmaterial, the outer ring surrounding the outer seal.
 34. A swing devicecomprising a shaft mounted on a first member; a bearing mounted on asecond member and rotatably supporting the shaft; and a bearing sealarranged outside a bearing surface in an axial direction for sealing aninside including the bearing surface from an outside; the bearing sealcomprising: an outer seal; a ring-shaped rigid portion; and an innerseal made of elastic material; wherein the ring-shaped rigid portion isarranged between the inner seal and the outer seal.
 35. A swing devicecomprising a shaft mounted on a first member; a bearing mounted on asecond member and rotatably supporting the shaft; and a bearing sealarranged outside a bearing surface in an axial direction for sealing aninside including the bearing surface from an outside; the bearing sealcomprising: an outer seal; a ring-shaped rigid portion; and an innerseal made of elastic material; wherein the ring-shaped rigid portionabuts at least any one of the inner seal and the outer seal.
 36. A swingdevice comprising a shaft mounted on a first member; a bearing mountedon a second member and rotatably supporting the shaft; and a bearingseal arranged outside a bearing surface in an axial direction forsealing an inside including the bearing surface from an outside; thebearing seal comprising: an outer seal; a ring-shaped rigid portion; andan inner seal made of elastic material; wherein the ring-shaped rigidportion is arranged so that all or a part thereof is embedded into atleast any one of the inner seal and the outer seal.